Life-saving chemo/radio-therapy commonly renders women and girls who survivor cancer infertile or sterile. We have discovered a new means of preserving the fertility of female mice exposed to chemo/radio therapy. In this project we will apply these advances to human ovarian tissue/eggs for the first time. We have access to these rare tissues for research purposes. This project will develop new approaches to fertility preservation for cancer survivors.
Preserving Ovarian Function During Chemotherapy And Old Age
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$425,048.00
Summary
Chemotherapy treatment and the natural ageing process leads to ovarian failure and infertility. For young cancer survivors, chemotherapy induced infertility is devastating, and like aged women, leads to hormonal changes that lead to osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, and neurodegeneration. Here, a new class of molecules will be tested for their ability to prevent and reverse infertility folllowing chemotherapy treatment, and in old age. These findings will improve the healthy lifespan of women.
Role Of The Anaphase-Promoting Complex Activator Cdh1 In Oocyte Maturation And Meiotic Aneuploidy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$526,878.00
Summary
Eggs containing an incorrect number of chromosomes are described as aneuploid. This project sets out to examine the molecular causes of aneuploidy and why it increases with female age. We focus on the protective role of the protein Cdh1 in this process. The outcome would be to better understand the origins of aneuploidy so as to find methods of decreasing it as women age. This is highly significant given aneuploidy is the leading cause of early embryo loss and produces Down Syndrome babies.
An econometric analysis of the effects of family benefit policies on fertility, saving and labour force participation in Australia. This project will help to 'strengthen Australia's economic fabric' by improving our understanding of the effect of family benefit policies on fertility, saving and labour force participation. This is important because boosting fertility and labour force participation are both seen as ways of mitigating the economic burden of population ageing, thereby helping Austra ....An econometric analysis of the effects of family benefit policies on fertility, saving and labour force participation in Australia. This project will help to 'strengthen Australia's economic fabric' by improving our understanding of the effect of family benefit policies on fertility, saving and labour force participation. This is important because boosting fertility and labour force participation are both seen as ways of mitigating the economic burden of population ageing, thereby helping Australia to 'age well, age productively' in a national sense. Also, achieving a desired level of national saving is a medium term goal of government economic policy. Hence it is important to understand the interaction of saving, fertility and labour force participation in order to develop compatible and effective economic policies.Read moreRead less
Age at first birth, mode of conception and adjustment to parenthood. The trend to delayed childbearing is well-established, multiply determined and unlikely to change in the short term. This study will provide contemporary Australian evidence on the experience of becoming a parent at different ages, naturally and through assisted conception, for Australian men and women. Both risk and protective factors for older first-time parents will be identified, thus informing policy and services that can ....Age at first birth, mode of conception and adjustment to parenthood. The trend to delayed childbearing is well-established, multiply determined and unlikely to change in the short term. This study will provide contemporary Australian evidence on the experience of becoming a parent at different ages, naturally and through assisted conception, for Australian men and women. Both risk and protective factors for older first-time parents will be identified, thus informing policy and services that can better support Australian families with planning and rearing children. A key outcome will be a Parenting Decision-Aid to provide evidence-based reader-friendly information about the positives and negatives of first-time parenthood at different ages.Read moreRead less
Plantwide Control of Modern Chemical Processes from a Network Perspective. Complex plants increasingly appear in modern Australian process industries, particularly in mineral processing, petrochemical and renewable energies sectors. These plants represent vast capital costs and manufacture products at a very large scale. Improvement in control and operation of these processes can potentially provide significant economic benefits. The expected outcome of this research is an effective approach to ....Plantwide Control of Modern Chemical Processes from a Network Perspective. Complex plants increasingly appear in modern Australian process industries, particularly in mineral processing, petrochemical and renewable energies sectors. These plants represent vast capital costs and manufacture products at a very large scale. Improvement in control and operation of these processes can potentially provide significant economic benefits. The expected outcome of this research is an effective approach to improve operational safety, efficiency, product quality and manufacturing flexibility, helping to build a more efficient and environmental conscious Australian chemical industry. This project will also enhance Australia's scientific reputation in the frontier research area of advanced process control and management.Read moreRead less
A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Effectiveness Of 4RIF And 9INH For Treatment Of Latent TB Infection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$496,875.00
Summary
Treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is one intervention that is known to prevent the occurrence of active TB. Current treatment is based on a six to nine month course of isoniazid. The treatment has side effects in some people and many people do not complete the treatment. The present study is to test an alternative treatment regimen (4 months of rifampicin) which has fewer side-effects and is more likely to be completed.
Fault tolerant multisensor feedback control. This project will advance knowledge by deepening the theoretical understanding of the interplay between multisensory data and feedback control mechanisms. It will also expand the tool sets of control engineering with innovative multisensory control designs. We see major benefits for Australia arising from this project both by enhancing its scientific reputation and by promoting technological advances in its industries and services. The project has pot ....Fault tolerant multisensor feedback control. This project will advance knowledge by deepening the theoretical understanding of the interplay between multisensory data and feedback control mechanisms. It will also expand the tool sets of control engineering with innovative multisensory control designs. We see major benefits for Australia arising from this project both by enhancing its scientific reputation and by promoting technological advances in its industries and services. The project has potential to contribute to the National Research Priority area: Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries, since it has direct impact on the relevant areas of biotechnology, information, communication technology, nanotechnology and sensor technology.Read moreRead less
Robust Data-Driven Control for Safety-Critical Systems. This project aims to develop new approaches to controlling robotic and cyber-physical systems in safety-critical applications. This project expects to generate new knowledge in how to harness the power of machine learning for robot control, while guaranteeing safety and stability at all times. The outcomes of this project will be new algorithms and a deeper understanding of the interplay of data, learning, and models, as well as experimenta ....Robust Data-Driven Control for Safety-Critical Systems. This project aims to develop new approaches to controlling robotic and cyber-physical systems in safety-critical applications. This project expects to generate new knowledge in how to harness the power of machine learning for robot control, while guaranteeing safety and stability at all times. The outcomes of this project will be new algorithms and a deeper understanding of the interplay of data, learning, and models, as well as experimental validation on a surgical robot and a bipedal walking robot. This project will provide significant benefits by dramatically increasing the range of applications in which the power of machine learning can be safely applied to advance the capabilities and uptake of robotics.Read moreRead less